C4 Husband? Married?? Teammate???
“How’s the little guy doing?”
That was what Chris said as soon as he arrived from work. On his left hand, he has two shopping bags. He really did go to the supermarket before going home. And Kei kept on wondering why it felt like she was a housewife waiting for his husband to arrive?
“Korrigan?”
He blinked several times when he heard Chris called his name. “He played a lot and got tired. Now, he’s sleeping.”
Chris glanced at his wristwatch and had a look of disapproval on his face. “It’s already six-thirty.”
“So what?” he absentmindedly asked. He took one of the bags from Chris and went to the kitchen.
“Why did you let him sleep?”
“Because he’s sleepy?” he said while taking out the meat from the shopping bag.
“If he woke up later, he’s going to stay up late and it’d be difficult for me to put him to sleep.”
“You keep on complaining.”
“That’s because he has to stay with me tonight just like the usual.”
He looked at Chris and his pretty face was obviously tired. His heart softened and he avoided his gaze. He could feel his face burning from just seeing Chris’ gorgeous poker face. The attraction he had for him for three years was getting stronger ever since they decided to take care of JD. And that was a few days ago! How could he survive the next few days, weeks, months—
“I’m sorry I was being hasty.”
He stiffened and couldn’t answer. He suddenly realized that it might be hard for Chris to take care of a child after a long day at work. That was their set-up since day one. He’d take care of JD in the morning and the kid has to stay with Chris at night. He, then, could start drawing the chapter of his on-going series. The next day, Chris would drop JD off before going to work. Their routine was exhausting and they only have each other.
“No, I am sorry for being inconsiderate,” he said. “You’re my only teammate. I should have been more helpful.” He looked at him and smiled.
“Teammate?” he asked as if that was his first time hearing the word.
“Yeah, we are a team now.”
“Is that what makes us three?”
He couldn’t help but think why Chris sounded so lonely. Like, the term ‘team’ was not what he was expecting. He was about to say something when they heard a knock on the door. He wondered who it was.
“Were you expecting someone?” Chris asked.
“No,” he answered and left him there. When he opened the door, he saw Elle standing in front of his door. “Elle? What brings you here?”
“Surprise!” Elle was grinning from ear to ear and even had a bottle of wine.
He scratched the back of his head and let her in. “Are we celebrating something?”
“No. I just want to drink.”
She was obviously drunk already and he wanted to know if something was up. He was about to ask her a question when JD started crying. They both looked in the same direction, his bedroom door. Elle opened her mouth and gasped when Chris appeared out of nowhere, walked past them and entered his room.
Her face had shock written all over it. Her eyes were questioning him like who the hell those people are. They were bigger than usual, too. He nervously smiled and guided her to sit on the sofa. Chris came out with JD in his arms.
“Elle—”
“When did you get yourself a family?”
“Elle—”
“No, more importantly, when did you get married?”
“Elle—”
“I didn’t even know you were dating and got pregnant—”
“Felicia!”
“What?”
He knew Elle. Whenever she’s flustered she tends to talk more. And everything that comes out of her mouth was all out of this world.
“How come people around me are not listening to what I say? Can you let me talk for a second?” he asked her.
“Sure,” she said and pointed at Chris. “Who’s he?”
“His name is Chris and he’s living next door,” he stated as a matter-of-factly. She stared at Chris that was quietly standing in a corner.
“Chris? His name sounds familiar. Hmm…” She didn’t remove her eyes on his neighbor and was about to drill a hole on him. “I know I’ve heard of him before, Kei.”
“No, you’re mistaken,” he objected. “He’s not the only Chris—”
“I knew it!” Elle excitedly snapped her fingers and it seemed like there was lightbulb on the top of her head. “He was the handsome neighbor you were talking about. Right, Kei? You even used him as an inspiration for—”
He stopped Elle by putting his hand on her sinful mouth. His eyes dilated and wanted to throw his friend out of his house. “No! You mixed him up with somebody else.”
Elle blinked slowly and he could hear her say ‘Really?’ and he sent her a signal through his raging eyes. She then removed his hands and brushed her hair as if nothing happened. She looked at Chris again and offered him a smile.
“Nice to meet you, Chris. I’m Elle, editor and friend of Korrigan.”
Chris gently bowed his head and said, “Nice to meet you too, Elle.”
He stood up and went to Chris to take JD from his arms. “I’ll take care of him. You can continue what we were doing in the kitchen.”
Chris nodded. “Okay, I—”
Elle gasped for the second time and said, “What were you two doing in the kitchen?”
“None of your business and it’s not what you think it is, Felicia,” he answered right away and pushed Chris to go to the kitchen.
“Oh, come on, Korrigan. You know better than anyone else what can be done in the kitchen. You know, on the counter top—”
“Stop.”
She grimaced and said, “Okay.”
He sat down beside her and she observed JD carefully who was still sleeping. “His Jayden. We call him JD. He’s my childhood friend’s son,” he explained and told Elle everything she has to know about his current situation. “His mom died and to make the long story short, I’m going to be his legal guardian from now on.”
“What gives?”
“None of Jane’s family members were willing to take him in.”
“I thought you don’t want to have a kid?”
He caressed JD’s cheeks before he answered. “It’s not that I don’t want a kid. It’s just that I don’t know how to be a parent. I’m not sure if I’m responsible enough.”
“And what made you change your mind?”
“His mom’s trust, I guess?” he sighed and looked at Elle. “What about you? Would you do the same?”
“Entrust you my kid in the future?” she asked and he nodded. “Hell, no.”
“Get out of my house.”
“Just kidding!” she said as she stood up. “Since you have a kid and a husband, I’d take my leave.”
“Already?”
“Yup. You can’t accompany me to drink all the way ‘til the sun’s up, so, I’m leaving.”
He stood up and accompanied Elle to the front door. “Next time?”
She shook her head. “This is why it sucks to be friends with married people, you know?”
“Elle, correction, Chris is not my husband and we are not married.”
“Whatever, same difference,” she shrugged and kissed him on the cheek. She, then, placed a kiss on JD’s forehead, who’s now awake and looking at her friend. “Don’t forget to finish what you have to finish, okay? Tonight’s your deadline in case you forgot.”
He was still smiling after Elle left. Whenever she feels bored, she usually shows up at his house just to have a drink and talk about everything. She also gives him honest thoughts and advice when he’s having a hard time at his work. That’s how essential she was in his life. He sat down on the sofa and placed JD on his lap.
“Are you hungry, Jayden?”
“Dinner’s ready.”
